[FIN] Think Fast

[TawnyAngel]

Relieved both that Abel wasn't going to fight him on this and that he was taking the guns away Taavi bid his friend a super early goodnight. It was so early in fact that, after some debate during which he folded the laundry, Taavi headed out onto the fire escape and met up with Valour for another sweep of the city. If they just kept looking then maybe... maybe.... Well they had to try, that was all.


Taavi was up early the next morning, checking his emails for responses to job applications - a polite rejection, that was actually kind of nice and not in a sarcastic way because at least they bothered to acknowledge his existence - and feeding the pokemon before stepping out onto the fire escape with a cup of coffee. It was cold in just a t-shirt and jeans but it was a nice morning, the air tasted clearer than it usually did in the city and there was a gentle breeze and... and it was just nice to feel almost like he was in another time, in which things hadn't sucked.

The sound of Abel's door opening broke the spell however and Taavi turned to poke his head back in through the window. "Hey! How are you feeling? Um, I made coffee without you I'm afraid, can I put some on for you or...?" Maybe Abel wanted to head straight out?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel leaned against the door frame with one hand hanging at his side and the other gingerly touching his ribs, as if doing so would encourage the aching to stop. Unsurprisingly, it didn't. His black eye and the bruise along his jaw had barely faded at all since the night before, and his tired, weary expression betrayed the fact he'd slept little the previous night. How was he feeling? "Uh," he started eloquently as he lifted his free hand to rub over his face. "Not dead," the blond finally stated after some moments of thought. Dropping his hand again and leaning his head against the door frame as well, he pondered on the offer a bit before he shook his head a little. "Nah, s'fine. I don't want anything just yet." At the moment, he didn't think his stomach would be able to handle anything.

After a few more silent moments of deliberation, he shifted his weight against the door frame and hooked his thumbs into his pockets. "I was thinking of heading out soon, if that's cool with you," he said, ending a little uncertainly. Was it too early? Would Taavi even want to go out yet - or more to the point, did he even still want to accompany him?  

[TawnyAngel]

Well not dead was a start... and a pretty accurate description really, Abel looked rough. What a shock, right? Given he'd had the crap beaten out of him? "No problem," Taavi replied, offering a smile and draining his coffee before hopping back into the apartment and closing the window. "Just need to get my shoes on and I'm good to go! Er, if you meant that soon? If not I can wait, not trying to rush you or anything just - yeah, ready when you are!" Well that had come out sounding awkward. Oh well.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

...how was he this awake and energetic so early, seriously. Okay maybe it wasn't that early but given how little he'd slept, anything before noon was too early. "Alright," he said simply in response to Taavi's many words as he pushed himself off the door frame and headed for the closet near the door, "let's go, then." At least he still wanted to go; the knowledge brought him some little comfort for some reason he couldn't quite figure out, but he set the thought aside as he slipped on his shoes, donned his jacket, retrieved his things and promptly stowed them in various pockets before heading out. He locked the door behind them and fell into step beside his friend as they descended - by way of the elevator; he wasn't up for taking the stairs just yet - and headed out into the chilly morning air.

Abel drew his jacket more closely around him as they headed around the building towards the parking lot, absently wondering why the cold air affected him so; it didn't used to bother him this much. As they drew closer to his vehicle, he pushed such idle thoughts aside as he fished out his keys from a pocket to unlock it. Nearby, a silver car beeped and flashed its lights briefly from under a thin layer of snow; compared to the other cars that filled the parking lot, only a small handful still had snow on them. "You can probably guess how much I use my car these days," Abel said, trying and largely failing at his feeble attempt at humor. Oh well. With another press of a button on his keys the truck popped open, and Abel stepped over to lift it fully and retrieve a snow brush from its depths. As he lowered the trunk but didn't fully close it yet, he gestured with the brush, "You can get in if you want, it'll only take a second to clean the car off."  

[TawnyAngel]

As they headed downstairs Taavi found himself torn between trying to 'cheer Abel up' and just letting the quiet hang. In the end he went for the second and not just because it was easier - though it was easier - but because... yeah. Cheering up wasn't a thing that was going to happen.

When they reached the car he smiled at his friend's weak attempt to lighten the mood, shook his head, and reached out to try to take the brush away from him. "Oh no, you get in and I'll clean the car off. I'm not the one with broken ribs remember? Consider me your 'doing physical stuff' person for a bit?" He couldn't help much but anything he could do he wanted to. "Like you say it'll only take a second right?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel was content with the silence as they walked. When Taavi insisted that he clean off the car instead, the blond frowned lightly. Sore and achy as he was, he still wanted to do things himself. Still, if Taavi did do it, that'd give him more time to get into the car with less of an audience... Getting into the car would probably hurt. "Nah, that's okay," he said finally somewhat hesitantly, shaking his head lightly with brush still in hand, "I can do it." Even as he spoke he didn't move to start just yet, though he did sweep his gaze over the car and the thin layer of snow covering it.  

[TawnyAngel]

Err. Right. Okay. Soooo... assertive? "I'm sure you can, but you don't have to," Taavi replied after a few moments of hesitation, still holding onto the brush. After another moment he gave it a light tug. "You don't need to prove anything or anything and I know you're meant to start doing stuff to heal properly? But not right away! Please?" Taavi tugged the brush again; as assertiveness went he knew this probably didn't score highly but he was trying!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I know I don't have to," Abel said, frown persisting; he could do it, he could, but it would require some leaning over and there was the chance he could bump his ribs while trying to reach, and--

The brush slipped through his fingers when Taavi tugged it again, and the blond exhaled. "Alright," he ceded as if he already hadn't unintentionally let go of the brush. It wasn't like he was trying to prove anything, but... "Yeah," he relented, wearing a mildly vexed frown in his expression, "I know I'm supposed to take it easy, but..." But I don't want to. It was difficult not to agitate his ribs when practically anything he did agitated them. Granted he probably shouldn't have been climbing out windows, but that was besides the point. He wanted to be better already, though he had to remind himself with no small amount of internal frustration that it would be weeks - months - before he'd be healed.

Dropping the conversation for now, Abel offered a quiet "thanks" before he turned and headed for the driver's side. If nothing else, he would at least drive his own car. With that thought in mind, the blond opened his door, held his breath, and slid into the seat. There. That hadn't been so bad, he tried to convince himself as he gritted his teeth and exhaled. Oh well; he'd be fine in a couple minutes anyway, once he got used to sitting. Until he had to get back up, of course...  

[TawnyAngel]

As Abel released the brush and got into the car without confrontation Taavi relaxed slightly - he hadn't been aware of tensing up - and moved quickly around the car brushing the snow off the windows and mirrors before returning the brush to the trunk.

"There, done," Taavi said with a brief smile to Abel as he climbed into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. Now though... now he didn't know what to say next. "Um, so, how far is your work from here?" It wasn't much but it was words and he was interested in the answer, he'd never much liked travelling by car so knowing how much of it there was going to be was good.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Thanks," Abel said in a slightly more strained voice than before as Taavi joined him inside the car. "It isn't too far." A moment later he turned the key in the ignition, the engine hummed to life, and he carefully backed the car out - ow, turning around to see behind him hurt too - before he guided it out of the parking lot and onto the street. How far was it besides 'not far'... "I usually walk, takes like fifteen minutes to get there. Twenty with traffic," he added, "so it's about a five minute drive if there isn't any."

Indeed, after a few minutes of driving with only a little traffic, Abel pulled up to a long, single-story building with signs out front clearly indicating its line of business. After pulling into the lot and parking in one of the empty spots near the door, Abel shut the car off and looked at his friend. "I shouldn't be too long," he said, then hesitated with his hand on the door handle as he thought of something. "Did you want to stay here, or...? I can leave you the keys so you can turn the heat on if you want," he offered. Somehow he just couldn't picture Taavi being too eager and saying 'heck yes I would absolutely love to join you in a building full of guns, let's go!'  

[TawnyAngel]

Not far then, good; Taavi nodded acknowledgement and made some kind of vague comment but didn't push for more conversation on the short drive.

When they pulled up Taavi nibbled his lower lip briefly as he studied the building, it looked perfectly normal from here. "Ah.... Yeah, I'll wait here thanks," he agreed, turning to Abel and flashing a brief smile. "I'm sure you don't need me hanging around over your shoulder when you talk to your boss right?" And also he didn't really want to go inside.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Alright," the blond replied easily, realizing he was about to shrug as well and refrained from doing so. "I shouldn't take too long then." So saying, he passed off his keys to his friend before making a face as he got out of the car. Seriously, broken ribs were the worst. He put a hand to his abdomen as he walked, his movements a bit stiff at first before relaxing somewhat as he headed inside, and immediately a sense of anxiety swept over him. What if his boss wouldn't let him start working again yet?  

[TawnyAngel]

It occurred to Taavi that nobody had ever given him car keys in the context of a car before as Abel passed them to him; he toyed with the familiar-unfamiliar object as he watched his friend retreat inside. It wasn't too cold in the car yet but should he put the heat on for when Abel got back?... Err... How far did you turn the key to get just the electrics and not the engine? Taavi lent around to find the ignition, put the key in and then - after brief consideration - left it alone. The car was in neutral, he knew that much, but somehow he had the feeling that if he fiddled with anything something was going to go wrong.

To pass the time until Abel got back Taavi fetched out his pokegear, maybe there was free wifi he could pick up? If not he could at least play some music.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As soon as the key slid into the ignition, the car's interior lights turned on again. Since Taavi acted no further, however, after several seconds of inactivity they simply turned off again. His search for free wifi would be impeded by the fact the firing range didn't appear to have it, but that may not have been the case for nearby establishments.

Five to ten minutes later a door further along the side of the building opened. Abel and an older man stepped out - he appeared roughly middle-aged, and his once dark hair had been streaked through gray - and the pair conversed while they slowly walked away from the door. When they stopped, Abel leaned against the wall while his companion did not. Lighters were produced, cigarettes brought out and lit, and for several minutes the pair engaged in casual conversation that wouldn't travel to the car even if the windows were open. Occasionally one or the other would nod or shake their head, gesture with their free hand, lift their cigarette to their lips or flick the ash off the end of it with their occupied hand, and even more rarely were bitter smiles exchanged. Eventually the man said something interesting; Abel perked up and looked at him more keenly, alert and focused. The pair exchanged more words, and after another couple of minutes, Abel drew his phone from his pocket and briefly tapped away at it with one hand.

A moment later, Taavi's gear would receive a short message from the blond: Would you be ok working here  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi glanced up when Abel and his boss came outside for a some but as conversation still seemed to be going on in the nicotine cloud and might for a while he went back to watching a few Pidgey across the road; Valour would have followed the car here and was probably watching the little flock too, there was a fair chance that he'd dive on one of them... He hoped Abel's boss wasn't squeamish.

When the text came in Taavi dug his pokegear out, pulled it up, read it, and then read it again. He then looked out of the window at Abel for a moment with an expression of surprise before returning his attention to the message. Work here. Work here? On the other hand, work! Despite his discomfort with the contents of the building it only took a few moments for Taavi to reach a decision and type back with; /Yes! Absolutely!/ After weeks of searching, growing panic, getting thrown out of his home, and then really panicking there was no way he was going to turn down any offer of employment.